• Closed • A Dangerous Game Part VII (Graded)

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

Val listened with half an ear as her rescuer explained. It seemed reasonable enough, though a part of her wondered who his employer was. Did it really matter though? If someone wanted to take down Sintra and was willing to pay for a mage to do so, she was okay with that. Magic still left her feeling uneasy, but as long as he didn't touch her with it... Her mind flashed back to the Ragged Man in the underground and his promise to track her, her blood running cold. The figure stepping out drew her attention out of her mind and the useless worry.

As they drew near the new threat, Val heard a thrumming sound build behind her, his footsteps slowing and the gap between them growing. Her wings, trapped in the billowing robes, fluttered unconsciously inside the loose fabric.

Her knees bent and she launched herself nearly horizontal across the ground. She heard a shouted "Duck!" and something whiz over her head as she stretched out her arms, but her aim was off.

A tackle that should've encircled his waist actually went around his knees, but she was lucky. Whatever the mage had done had stunned the man and her hit so low brought the already tottering man down. His massive bulk and weight sprawled, trapping her legs and she tried to get free. Snarling, she reached her talons out and slashed for the man's throat.

His hand shot up, blocking the blow, though he let a small cry out as the nails cut through his skin. Again and again she slashed, the man slowly and inexorably beginning to crawl on top of her, smothering her with his weight, until she got a lucky strike. Her nails slid past his hand and tore through his throat, blood soaking her new robes. He jerked once, twice, then was still.

"Help," Val said, muffled beneath the dead weight of the body. Her muscles were sore and shaking, the fast run coupled with her quick, brutal fight leaving her unable to escape from the corpse.

More footsteps sounded behind them as Val extricated herself and she wasted no time. She barreled towards the door and shoved it open, stumbling into the bright light of Saun.

They were still not safe, and after a quick glance to make sure the man was still following her, Val began weaving through streets and alleys. She walked here, her head kept up and on a swivel, but did nothing to arouse suspicion from the guards. The black fabric merely looked wet, not bloody, and she hoped she could change before any guards noticed.

"Follow me- I've got somewhere safe where we can talk."

The trip took nearly a break, Val leading them in circuitous routes, trying her best to make sure they weren't followed.at long last, they drew up to the Inn she had rented a room from. She drew the extra key from its hiding place in the top of the mantle and opened the door. Amber, Val's hyx, nearly knocked Val over in her concern, nosing as the blood and roaring up to place her paws on her shoulder, sniffing at the bandaged neck wound. She turned and sniffed at the new man, slightly suspicious, but allowed them both entry.

Val shut and locked the door, glancing around to ensure the room was as she'd left it. Finally, she turned and faced the man.

"So? Why did you come save me, how did you know I'd be there, and what info do you have against Sintra?"

[Oberan]

The rock whistled as it rocketed towards the giant man, over the Avriel’s head. It struck him in the chest, creating a large dent in the man’s flesh. Though it did not breach the skin, nor drew any visible blood, the launched stone delivered a lot of hurt. Forced by the impact, the giant stumbled backwards long enough for the former prisoner to tackle him.

Both of them fell, the large cultist trapping his attacker underneath his weight. She clawed like a feral beast, ripping the giant’s throat open. However, it did not prevent him from using his bulk to smother her in a last ditch attempt to detain her.

Oberan rushed forward to help her out, but even with boosted strength this was not going to be an easy task. He pried his fingers underneath regardless, grabbing hold of the big man’s flesh, and pulled. Arms, legs, and back worked in unison to lift the massive corpse. It was too large and unwieldy though, and without someone on the other side to help, he was not going to be able raise the form in the air. What he could do, however, was push the flesh upwards enough to make it easier for the mole to escape. Which she did. Once she was free, Oberan rifled quickly through the man’s pockets, taking his keys.

Footsteps behind them. More cultists were coming, attracted by the sounds of struggle. The exit was right in front of the escapees though, so they ran, reaching the sunlight once again. Ms. Mole took charge, leading the both of them through streets and alleys, a roundabout tour of the town that lasted around an hour. Finally they reached an inn, their destination.

Inside the woman’s room, she was greeted by a large fox-like beast. Her pet? It gave Oberan a suspicious glare, which was fair enough. Mole closed and locked the door, then started asking her questions.

“Honestly, I’m pretty sure I walked right into a trap.” Well, not exactly into it, else he’d have been bound to a chair next to the one Mole had been strapped to right about now. “I overheard some of the Spinners talk about a mole they’d captured. Pretty sure they were trying to flush out any accomplices of yours. It was too convenient and really not subtle. Anyway, I took the bait, followed them, and infiltrated the base. You know the rest.”

Oberan scratched the side of his face, for a moment. “Well, I was looking for someone to take the proof off of my hands. Preferably someone who’d use it to expose all of Sintra’s schemes, and not make the evidence disappear. I figured that if there actually was someone recently captured by the Webspinners, they would be a perfect candidate. I was going to observe for a while, just to make sure I wasn’t dealing with an act, but…” He paused momentarily, figuring out how to say this. “There were some unforeseen obstacles.” Still, he was fairly confident in her being anti-Sintra.

“As for the evidence I’ve collected…”

He strode over to the small desk in the room, placing one hand on top of it. Suddenly, a lockbox appeared next to his hand, touching Oberan’s fingers. “In here is everything I’ve managed to gather. It’s yours if you want it.”

Within his pocket he summoned a key, which he used to fuel the God Key, undoing the Seal placed upon the box. For a moment, a shimmering layer became visible over the box, which promptly popped like a soap bubble. Immediately after, the small chest’s lid swung open, revealing its contents to the Mole. He gave her a few moments to look at it, though he didn’t stray too far, just in case she’d deceived him after all.

“Interested?”

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

Val listened in silence, quickly walking over to her bed and stripping off the black robes. She let them fall into a heap, her skin covered in drying blood, only some of it her own. Amber licked her hand, cleaning some of it off her talons as Hero talked about the trap laid for him. She grabbed a cloth off the side of an old washbasin, quickly and efficiently wiping away the blood and grim from her neck and arms.

It made sense that they would have set traps for any companions she might have brought. They likely knew that she was a Yludih, but they still would have thought her part of a larger group. If their situations were reversed, Valyeria knew she would've. She was lucky, then, that Hero was smart enough to stake the place out.

She was passably clean by now and rifled through the chest at the foot of the bed, pulling out a set of plain men's clothing, large and loose enough to fit her wings beneath without problem. She dressed and nodded at the man, letting him finish his explanation before interrupting. A hand idly stroked Amber's head, at chest level of Val. When he summoned the box, Val was paying attention. He had no words, no complicated gestures or any of the myriad of rituals she had heard magicians do, yet there it was, plain as day on the table. She felt a slight unease with the man, as she always did around magic and their users. She still hadn't recovered, psychologically, from the Ragged Man in the Underground in the end of Ymiden, and all magic was still concerning to her. The shimmer over the box confirmed it in her mind- it wasn't some slight of hand trick. It was magic.

As he made no move to use his skill against her, she felt herself relax slightly.

"I have to say I'm glad you were smart enough to bypass their trap. Would've been far less elegant a rescue if you had wound up in a chair next to me. Beyond that, you've found your person. I've got as much cause to hate Sintra as anyone does, I gather. I don't want her and her games in Etzos, and I doubt the people of Etzos will either, once they see this." She said, holding up her own letter. She strode over to the now open box and peered inside, rifling through the contents quickly.

"This should help. I'm very interested in taking this back- between what evidence I already have and this here, I should be able to stand a decent chance of turning Etzos against her." Valyeria turned and faced Hero, extending a clean hand to shake. "I appreciate the help in getting out of there. I couldn't have done it alone."

A thought suddenly occured to her, making her curse.

"Aelig's balls, I forgot. I've got a prisoner I need to deal with. I don't suppose you could make her disappear the same way you made the box appear? I might have need of her later."

Regardless of his answer, she took off almost immediately, heading for the opposite side of town and her rented warehouse. She didn't bother with any of her twists and turns- speed was of the utmost importance now. A tickling worry stuck in the back of her mind, unable to be forced down.

All Valyeria's worst fears were realized when she arrived at the main square near the warehouse. Dozens of Etzori military officers and soldiers stood at attention, blocking the road towards the warehouse. She stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing this, gazing in horror. "She escaped," she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else. Drivia Hornstone, a high ranking Military Intelligence officer, had escaped and run straight to the Etzori Military. They knew this face, Valyeria, as well as Drivia's own, and that she was a Yludih. They didn't know her name, but capture and torture of a military official would not be taken lightly, and she was a wanted woman now. She cursed under her breath, dodging backward and blending into the crowd.

If Oberan had followed her, she'd explain the situation in an undertone, omitting the details that would give her away as Yludih. "I need to get back to Etzos now,"" she whispered again, already making plans to escape the city with Amber. She began to walk back to the inn, moving quickly.

Tonight, perhaps, under the cover of darkness. It was high time for her to return and get her revenge.

[Oberan]

She rummaged through the small box, studying the contents briefly. A lot of it were papers. Handwritten notes of things he had noticed when infiltrating Rhakdos. Confessions from certain individuals when questioned. Snippets of conversations he’d managed to overhear. Perhaps not entirely useful, as the claim that these were falsified documents or unreliable witnesses could easily be made. However, among the notes sat an artefact. A strange little thing covered in runes that probably meant something to historians and mages. All around, some sort of web was wound, giving it a very ‘Sintra’ style. Lastly, it was fashioned from materials that did not … feel right.

There was something otherworldly about it. A profound oddness and offness that was hard to explain. However, upon seeing it, most people seemed to instinctually know that it did not belong. The item itself too did not seem to sit well in this plane of existence, shifting a couple millimeters in a random direction from time to time, as if its location was not absolute. Oberan could feel a certain weak interference emanate from it, almost resonating within his soul. Almost like the Guardian had when the entity had slipped inside his body. Quite possibly, any mage, marked, and or Mortalborn was able to feel the faint effect if they knew what to search for.

Naturally, there were notes on the artefact as well. Notes jotted down by Oberan, but the explanation was that of a mage versed in Attunement. Most of it was technical gibberish and wizard lingo, but a clarification was written after all that. In essence, the device destabilized ether over a vast area, creating an event similar to an ether storm. Whether or not the artefact was capable of actually stirring one up by itself, or if it needed a preexisting anomaly to manipulate and prolong was unclear, however. The right people might be able to give a more in depth analysis of the device, broadening the understanding of its capabilities.

All in all, while Oberan had collected quite a bit, apart from maybe the artefact, he did not have much conclusive evidence. Figures, with Sintra being rather careful there was not a lot to find. Moreover, she likely would have taken countermeasures to discredit any actual damning evidence that could be used against her. Still, the Mortalborn anticipated not needing anything that would hold up in court. The factor that had to be played here were the masses. Convince the masses of Sintra’s subterfuge, and the battle was won. Fail, and you’re done for. Seeing as the Immortal held Manipulation as one of her Domains, chances of the latter coming to pass were rather significant.

Yet another reason not to be the bellringer.

“Good,” the Mortalborn smiled. “Then it is yours.”

He shook her hand, pleased with the way things were turning out. It did not last, though. Remembering something, the Mole rushed out, and Oberan, reluctant to leave the important box, quickly sent it back to the Vault, and followed. There wasn’t even time to respond to her question.

They arrived to a scene that spelled trouble. A warehouse surrounded by guards, a small crowd of citizens gathered to see what was going on. Bad news indeed.

“She escaped,” the Mole whispered.

“Who did?”

Bad news was shared, which naturally, soured the mood. Oberan could very well dump the lockbox back into the Mole’s hands, and vanish in the crowd, washing his hands of this new problem. However, he wanted to see this through. His job was done, yes, but Audrae likely expected for the information to reach Etzori ears, knocking Sintra of her high horse. Leaving the Mole without a fighting chance, then, was to shoot himself in the foot. After all, the Mole’s success was his success as well.

“You should,” the Mortalborn agreed in a conspiratorial whisper. “And I can significantly speed up the journey, if so desired.” While the orb had not had enough charge before, by the time night fell, it should have gathered enough energy for a small jump. Able to take them a few miles outside the city walls, to the point he’d marked before. After that, the journey to Etzos would take another twenty or so days on horseback, and even more on foot. The orb needed only ten to reach full charge, which would bring them into Etzos as long as they were within a hundred miles of the city. He shared that information with her, since she already had seen the orb anyway. The choice was ultimately hers, however.

“The faster you get to Etzos, the more it benefits me,” he spoke with a shrug, anticipating a ‘why do all this’. “And I was going to do this anyway, so you’re welcome to tag along.”

[Vluharqih]

CREDIT

The artifact looked sufficiently interesting to convince Val of its usefulness. Even if it wasn't all Hero claimed it to be - and based on the mage's letter, it was - it would provide people with a kernel of doubt, and that was all she could really ask for. Add to that the incredible... otherness that hung about the object like a cloak and she knew it was exactly what she needed.

Thoughts raced through her head, options swirling about her as she flipped through the rest of the letters. Many seemed to be in Hero's hand, analysis of various Webspinner documentation and correspondence. She even took the time to read through the Attunment mage's writings, as much as she could. The writing was clear, but the words were unfamiliar to her and it took a certain kind of focus to keep her mind on the task at hand. Happy to reach the end, she tucked the whole box into her pack and smiled at him.

"That's perfect. It should be just enough to convince people."



“And I can significantly speed up the journey, if so desired.”

Val frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing. Could she trust this man? Getting out of the city would be far easier if she could just teleport out. But how far did she want to travel with him beyond that? He had just given her all the info she needed and for the life of her she couldn't see any reason for him to betray her now, but she thought it better to err on the side of caution till Sintra was dealt with.

"I'll take you up on the lift out of the city for sure. Beyond that, I think I'll go my own way. If I get lucky and hit a caravan along the way I could slip into the city proper, plus I can start sharing all this," she said with a nod towards the box he had given her, "with them. Caravaners are notorious gossips and like you said, the faster this gets out the better."

She gave him a grin at this, and let her energy swell. The escape of Drivia was something she could handle later. For now, she was ready to strike back.

[Doran]

Vluharqih:

Knowledge:
Poisons: Trapper Spider Adrenal for Increasing Nerve Sensitivity
Poisons: Trapper Spider Adrenal is Effective against Yludih
Discipline: Shifting in times of High Stress
Unarmed Combat (Natural Weapons): Talons work as well as knives when tearing soft flesh
Unarmed Combat (Natural Weapons): Talons leave tearing wounds
Unarmed Combat (Natural Weapons): Throats are vulnerable to slashing talons
Acrobatics: Tumbling to dodge your strike
Acrobatics: leaping horizontally at an attacker
Running: Staying ahead of a mob
Running: Using walls to help turn yourself
Politics: Proof to run a Smear Campaign
Politics: Danger of being a Whistleblower

Loot:

• One set of Webspinner robes
• One lockbox of proof of Sintra's scheming
• One broken etherstorm generating artefact
• Three letters from Webspinners that show clear proof of preknowledge of the Etherstorms and orders to betray Etzos

Wealth: -
Injuries: Slashed neck, cut fingers, bruised/broken ribs from club strikes
Renown: 20, for all of the things mentioned here.
Magic XP: -
Points: 15

Oberan:

Knowledge:
Unarmed (Agudo): Trading places
Unarmed (Agudo): Tripping an enemy
Unarmed (Agudo): Throat strike
Strength: Shoulder tackle
Ranged (Sling): Loading a sling
Ranged (Sling): Aiming
Ranged (Sling): Large targets are easier to hit
Ranged (Sling): Simple but effective
Climbing:leaping up walls
Climbing:clambering through a window
Running: runnding down stairs might make you slip
Running: staying ahead of a mob

Webspinners: Sintra's agents
Webspinners: Likely present in every town
Sintra: Has spies everywhere

Loot:

• One set of Webspinner robes
• Loss of all evidence against Sintra

Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: 15, for infiltrating a trap and escaping while rescuing a prisoner.
Magic XP: -
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: This thread was great!

It seems as if there is a lot going on in Etzos at the moment and things have changed considerably since I last took a look at the city.

I’d never thought that there would be an Immortal in Etzos one day!

I didn’t read the previous threads, but I had little trouble following the story as you added just enough background information in my opinion. I was quite impressed with both of your posts and how you wrote those combat scenes. They were exciting to read!

I also liked that Vlu was paranoid about being found out even though Oberan helped her. Oberan’s Mortalborn abilities seem really useful, by the way. I wish I had such a God Key!

I look forward to the sequel (there’ll be one, right?)!

Enjoy your rewards!